Electric gas-lighting apparatus



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G. D. BANGROFT. Electric Gas Lighting Apparatus.

N 235,979. Patented Dec. 28,1880.

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G. D."'BAN-G ROFT. v Electric Gas Lighting Apparatus. No. 235,979."Patented Dec.2 8,1880.

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GEORGE D. BANOROFT, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTRIC GAS-LIGHTING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of. Letters Patent No. 235,979, datedDecember 28, 1880. I

- Application filedApril '23, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE D. BANCROFT ofBoston, in the county of Suftolkand State of Massachusetts, haveinvented a new and useful Electric and Gas-Lighting Apparatus, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of gaslighting apparatus in whichthermal as well as electrical action is utilized; and it consists incombining in a system of gas'- lights expansion-wires, one to each jet,which is capable of being heated by an electric current suffi ciently toignite gas, the expansion of this L wire, caused by thus heating, beingused for the purpose of cutting off the current from the lamp alreadylighted and making a connection to the next lamp in the line, where thecurrent will repeat its functions.

It also consists in minor details, which may be best understood byreference to the drawings and specification.

In the drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of my invention. Fig. 2is a side elevation of the same.

My invention is to be applied to a series of lamps, and as the samedevices are applied to each lamp it is necessary for me to describe oneonly of the devices that are used in my system of lighting gas-lamps.

A represents the gas-burner pipe. To this pipe I attach a base-plate, B,preferably of some insulating material, such as hard rubber, forinstance.

0 and D are standards securely fastened to the plate B. One of thesestandards, 0, has secured to it one end of the platinum wire P, whilethe other standard, D, supports a lever, E, pivoted at e, the upper endof this lever E being also attached to the platinum wire P. The lowerend, E, of the lever E has ascrewstart, E".

F is a light spring, fastened at one end to F, while the other endcarries a block of good conducting metal, F.

h h are terminals of conducting-wires. H is a small electro magnet. -L LK K are metallic blocks, which form terminals for the conducting-wires,all these blocks being carefully insulated from each other.

M is a lever pivoted at M, and having at its upper end an armature, Msaid armature M to be acted upon by the electro-magnet H.

current from these wires platinum wire P 'pletes a circuit from thewires W it takes with it the arm M,

in contact with the terminals h M is a metallic block pivoted to thelever M, and acts as a bridge to connect the terminals L L or theterminals K K, as the case may be.

The conducting-wires are indicated by the letters W, W, W, and W, andbyR R R.

'Theoperation of my device may be explained as follows: W and Wrepresent wire or wires coming from the battery to the post (3. Thepasses up through the post 0 to the platinum wire P, thence through thelever E and post D to the wires R, thence through block L, bridge M,block and wires R to the ground. A strong current of electricity passingthrough the come sufficiently heated to ignite the gas-jet from the pipeA, '(the gas being turned on by an automatic device-fully described inthe specification of Letters Patent of the United States granted to meJune 18, 1878, and numbered 205,032.) This heating of the wire P causesit to expand and force the. upper end of the lever E outward. Thisaction causes the will cause the same to be- I start E on the lower endof the lever to press upon the spring-plate F, and thus cause theconducting block or bridge F to come in contact with the wire terminalsh h. This comthrough It, the coil of the magnet Hto the terminal 71,thence through the bridge F, the terminal h, wire h, the block K, andthe wires W 011 to the line. This current excites the electromagne't Hand causes itto attract the armature M The movement of the armature Mthus caused draws the lever M over, taking with it the bridge M, so asto break the connection between L and L, thus breaking the circuit thathas heretofore passed through P and closing the circuit between K and K,so as to cause a current to flow through the wires W W the block K,bridge M, and block K to the wire W, and thence to the next light in thecircuit. When the lever M passes over which is riveted to it. The end Nof this arm M presses against the spring-plate F and holds h, so thatthe Withdrawal of the start E on the lever E E, caused by the cooling ofthe platinum wire P, will not affect the position of the bridge F, asthat will be held in contact with the terminals h h so long as theelectro-magnet H has the bridge F a current flowing round it-in otherwords, so long as the line remains unbroken. The clectro-magnet H isexcited by a branch current, which is taken from W by the wire 7:, andconducted through the coil on the magnet H, thence through h, F, h, h,and K to the line. In other words, this is operated by what istechnically called a split current. A resistance is put in wire V sothat a sufiicient current will pass through wire It to energize themagnet H. The platinum wire I? being cut out as soon as it has performedits function of lighting the gas of its own burner saves the said wirefrom too rapid consumption.

Having" thus described my invention, what I desire to secure by LettersPatent is 1. In a system for theelectric lighting of gasjets, thecombination of a wire, P, of refrac- 2o tory metal, and an electriccircuit, and a gas-tip and its jet with a mechanism for opening thecircuit of the lamp already lighted and closing a circuit for the nextlamp, whereby the refractory wire P becomes heated and acts, first, as alighter for the gas, and, secondly, by its expansion, as acurrentchanger, substantially as described, and for the purpose setforth.

2. In an electric gas-lighting device, the combination of the wire I,lever E E, springplate F, bridge F, and magnet H with the lever andarmature M M and bridge M, all operating together substantially asdescribed, and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, substantially as before set forth, of thearmature-lever, the arm M thereof, the spring-plate F, the bridge F, andterminals h h.

GEO. D. BANUROFT. l \Vitnesses:

HELEN M. FEEGAN, W. S. SAMPSON, Jr.

